Sweet Pumpkins

I was looking on the foodies network and I came across a recipe for Caramel Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Bread. In my quest to try new things and get my pumpkin on and this one looked very yummy.

 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of oil, I used vegetable

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups of flour

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

1/3 cup of chocolate chunks (I didn't have these)

1 cup caramel filled chocolate chips (I also did not have these)

 

Instructions:

1.) Combine the sugars, oil, eggs, and pumpkin until mixed together
2.) Sift together the baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Slowly beat it into the sugar mixture alternately with the milk. Stir in the chocolate chunks (I substituted with chocolate chips) and Caramel chocolate chips by hand.
3.) Spread the batter in a greased 9x5 bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes. (my oven is pretty hot, so it was only about 60 minutes) and let cool in the pan for 15 minutest. Flip out onto a plate and cool completely.

Ingredients for Caramel Frosting:
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of mini Chocolate chips

4.) Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar and stir for 2 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves all the way. Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk and vanilla. Let cool for 4-5 minutes. Beat in the powdered sugar. Spread on the top of the cooled bread. Top with mini chocolate chips. (I used regular chocolate chips).

This was a very yummy. My kids ate this very well. I have also made a loaf for my husband to sell at his Bake Auction, and will be serving this at my daughter's birthday party.

Matthew 24:42 Watch therefor; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

 

A taste of Pumkin Pie

Mmm yummy right? This is pumpkin pie pudding. This recipe is from Kitchen Dreaming. My kids did not like it at all. My son daughter refused to touch it and my son pretended to eat it and then ran and spit it out. My husband did eat a bowl of it, but I am fairly certain he did not like it either. I thought it was yummy, it did taste exactly like pumpkin pie, and I think it would have tasted much better if it had whipped cream.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 3/4 cups of 1% low fat milk ( I used whole milk)
1 large egg
1 cup of canned unsweetened pumpkin
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning
1/8 teaspoon of salt

Optional Garnish: Dollop of whipped cream and toasted walnuts, and I had neither.

Directions:

1.) combine 6 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Combine milk and egg, stirring well with a whisk. Gradually add milk mixture to sugar mixture, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

2) Combine pumpkin, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a bowl, stirring until well incorporated. Slowly add pumpkin mixture to milk, whisking constantly. Place pan over low heat, and cook for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly (do not boil) Divide pudding evenly among 4 dessert bowls, and cover surface  with plastic wrap to prevent it from forming a skin over the top. Chill until ready to serve.

3.) top with either whipped cream or toasted walnuts.

If you try it, I hope that you enjoy it.

Jeremiah 24:7 And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord; and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

Just like a Mighty Steed they led me home

In the Spring of 1998 I purchased a 1996 Ford Ranger. The day I test drove it I knew it was for me. I could feel it calling my name. I was a young 20 almost 21 year old divorce. I was soft, sad, hurt, angry, and ready to sow some wild oats and through this truck I channeled it all. I drove it all over town, down back roads. I knew the ins and outs of this truck. I knew how fast it would handle around blind curves, how far it would go on a tank of gas. I loved to keep the windows down and the one in the back open. For a brief spell I even kept the tailgate down. This truck saw the best and the worst of me. I had blonde hair, various shades of red hair, black hair and blonde hair. I was cruising, I loved to party, I felt on top of my game. Bowling, drinking, Ruby Tuesdays for margaritas. I was running       from the hurt.  I wanted  to be better than I ever was. I was smoking, I felt beautiful. And then I got pregnant. And a darkness began to creep up on me. I tried so very hard to go down the right path but the path wasn't an easy one to follow, and I lost my way. I had this truck until my son was almost six years old. It became my refuge when at one point I hit depression so bad that I couldn't bring myself to go home. The emptiness was strangling me. I was terrified of my son, and the alcohol was only helping so much. By the time I sold this truck, I had outgrown it. Shame on me, but when I had this truck there was a span of several years where I left the bar barely able to stand and by the good grace of God I made it home each and every time without hurting myself or anyone else. I drove this truck fast I drove it like there was no tomorrow. Behind the wheel I was in control and I knew exactly how to get what I wanted. I was good I was bad, I was caring and I was selfish.

After selling my truck I bought a Chevrolet Blazer. I drove this like a tank, with an attitude of invincibility. I drove it fast, I ran stop signs. I was even pulled over in my son's school parking lot for having disregarded the stop sign and school zone. I made my son's day that day. I drove this for three years. Three very reckless years. Toward the end of owning this I did finally manage to clean up my life for a short spell. I slipped down a slippery slope which in turn brought me to causing a very bad accident coincidentally just after dropping my son off from day care. The thing with this was, I drove it, I owned it, but I let the hard exterior fool me into thinking that I could not be stopped. I bought my first house just after buying this Blazer. I left a job selling Cellular Phones because it was overtaking my life and I was struggling to pull away from the bars from being eye candy. I wanted to focus on my son and I found God again. Then I took a job at this little doctor's office, they knew me there from my bar/party reputation. I wanted to have fun with them, but I didn't really fit in. I couldn't really get along with the office manager. I hated being around the sick people. I was finally fired. A very humbling experience that led me back to God. By the time I totaled it, I was trying to find my way back from the bottom of a gully. I wanted to be free, I wanted God to love me again. Totaling this Blazer I am sure was another part of God's great plan in getting me to where I am today.

 

 

After totaling the Blazer I needed a car quick. I wanted something smaller and better on gas. I had no idea that within a year this purchase would pay off. I settled on it because it was affordable, only a year old and small. So I ended up with a 2007 Saturn Ion. This car has been with my husband and I since the very beginning of our relationship. We drove this car to Nashville for Immigration appointments, we drove it to Nashville to see our son when he was in the hospital there. We drove it to see my Mom in Alabama. In fact this car made close to 10 round trips to Alabama, two of those trips also involved trips into Western Georgia. It made 2 round trips to Virginia. 2 round trips to El Paso. This Saturn has pulled a small U-Haul trailer, had a luggage rack and a luggage bag on it, and fully loaded the last trip to El Paso. When I was staying in Tennessee while my husband was deployed I drove this car on no less than 3 round trips to Nashville a week. This little car could drive one way to Nashville or back with a fuel light on. It drives well in the snow. I love the way it is small enough to hang a decent U-Turn, something I am quite good at. I love the way it can get into small spaces. I love the way it can be pushed when I am in a hurry. It handles well at high speeds, it handles well in near misses. It is an all around good car. We finally paid it off and we take very good care of it. We actually use it more than our minivan because it gets better gas mileage and some of the places we go here in El Paso have such tiny parking lots, so this does nicely.

 

 

 

 

Why did I share a story about three vehicles? Because each one was a part of my journey. Maybe even a part of who I am. They felt to me like an extension of myself. I remember the day I sold my truck, I remember how I nearly cried to see it go. The day I totaled the blazer I felt empty and down in the dumps. Because you see at that time I had know God's love and I let satan tempt me and because of that choice I was in a hurry about to be late to work and having forgot my son's lunch for the third time that week. I wasn't on top of my game at all. The Saturn was resignation. Getting things back into the positive beginning a new journey as a wife and a new mom.

 

Psalm 23:1-6

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His names sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For you are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all he days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

 

Jeremiah 29:11

 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

 

Peanut Butter Memories

There is one children's song that has recently resurfaced in my memory. It was there, but it wasn't something I thought about a lot, that is until my daughter's last music group.

We were sitting on the rug with pictures of animals and the names written in English and Spanish. I was struggling to get my just about two year old to focus and to do the actions with the songs when suddenly they sang "Peanut butter"

It was as if for the briefest of moments that time swung back wards to my now fourteen year old and his then Kindergarten class. They required an unopened jar of peanut butter and they put on a short little skit featuring this song.

We Love Peanut Butter (Tune:Allouette)

Peanut Butter, we love peanut butter,
Peanut Butter, that's what we like best.
Do you like it on your head?
 yes, we like it on our head.
On your head?
 On our head. OHHHH

(Point to different body parts as you sing about them)

Do you like it on your shirt.....
Do you like it on your pants....
Do you like it on your socks.....
Do you like it on your shoes....
Do you like it on your underwear....

The weeks leading up to this performance were filled with my son running through the house singing this, in the car, wherever we may be he sang it. And even now all these years later he will ask me if I remember him singing this song at school.

I do, I remember sitting in that auditorium and looking at all the little kids up there and feeling my heart swell with pride that my sweet little boy was up there. That he was growing up and that this was the first of what I hoped would be many performances. It was a spectacular moment for me as a mother.

And being the somewhat sentimental Mom that I am, that is why I was taken aback when I heard the song at music group. I felt sad that it went so fast. I felt silly that it had brought tears to my eyes. As soon as I could I sent my oldest son a message telling him that his little sister had sung this song. Well, not really, as she is still learning to speak. Later that day I spoke to my son on the phone and I asked him if he could sing the song for me. Of course, now he is a big boy and he can't sing a baby song. At least not when other people are close by and might hear him.

I really hope that they do that song again in music group. As silly as it sounds, it really did warm my heart.

Cherish each moment that you are given with your children. Embrace the escapades and try to find the humor in each one. I know this is very often not an easy task. I have had my share of escapades as a Mom of two boys and now a daughter who really reminds me of her oldest brother.



This song was found on www.drjean.org/html/cds_f/keep_on

I would also like to dedicate this post to my oldest son, you know who you are and I pray that one day you too will appreciate all the special moments that come your way with children of your own. Love Mom